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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the punishment for possession of child pornography; |
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increasing criminal penalties. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 43.26, Penal Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as |
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follows: |
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(d) An offense under Subsection (a) is: |
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(1) a felony of the third degree if the person |
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possesses visual material that contains fewer than 100 visual |
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depictions of a child as described by Subsection (a)(1); |
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(2) [, except that the offense is: |
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[(1)] a felony of the second degree if [it is shown on |
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the trial of the offense that] the person possesses visual material |
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that contains 100 or more visual depictions of a child as described |
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by Subsection (a)(1) but fewer than 500 such depictions [has been |
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previously convicted one time of an offense under that subsection]; |
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(3) [and |
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[(2)] a felony of the first degree if [it is shown on the |
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trial of the offense that] the person possesses visual material |
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that contains 500 or more visual depictions of a child as described |
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by Subsection (a)(1); or |
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(4) a felony of the first degree punishable by |
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imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life |
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or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than 25 years if it |
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is shown on the trial of the offense that, at the time of the |
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offense, the person was: |
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(A) an employee at a child-care facility or a |
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residential child-care facility, as those terms are defined by |
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Section 42.002, Human Resources Code; |
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(B) an employee at a residential treatment |
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facility established under Section 221.056, Human Resources Code; |
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(C) an employee at a shelter or facility that |
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serves youth and that receives state funds; or |
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(D) receiving state funds for the care of a child |
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depicted by the visual material [has been previously convicted two |
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or more times of an offense under that subsection]. |
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(d-1) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under |
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Subsection (a) that the visual material depicted a child younger |
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than 10 years of age at the time the image of the child was made or |
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that the defendant has been previously convicted of an offense |
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under that subsection: |
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(1) an offense described for purposes of punishment by |
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Subsection (d)(1) or (2) is increased to the next higher category of |
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offense; or |
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(2) the minimum term of confinement for an offense |
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described for purposes of punishment by Subsection (d)(3) is |
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increased to 15 years. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |